Department for Transport

South Eastern Rail Franchise

Tom Tugendhat: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what measures will be included in the forthcoming Southeastern franchise agreement for the successful franchisee to ensure that as few services as possible are run with short formations.

Andrew Jones: The forthcoming South Eastern franchise agreement includes a Short Formation regime in Schedule 7.1 where there is a financial incentive to ensure the franchisee meets the train formations agreed, which varies depending on the level of failure. Any income from this regime has to be invested in the franchise. In addition, poor performance in this area can be regarded as a breach in terms of the contract.

Parking: Cycleways

Matthew Pennycook: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when his Department plans to introduce legislation to permit the use of approved camera devices for the enforcement by local authorities of parking restrictions in mandatory cycle lanes.

Jesse Norman: The Government response to the Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy (CWIS) Safety Review Call for Evidence committed to allow local councils to use cameras to enforce parking restrictions in mandatory cycle lanes within the next two years. Work is under way to introduce the relevant legislation within this timeframe.

Cycling: Safety

Paul Farrelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent steps his Department has taken to help ensure cycling in UK cities becomes safer and more child friendly.

Jesse Norman: Around £2bn of funding is being invested in cycling and walking projects between 2016/17 and 2020/21, which will help make cycling safer for everyone. This includes £50m for Bikeability training for school children, which has allowed around four hundred thousand children to be trained during the 2018/19 academic year.

Railways: Compensation

Mr Ranil Jayawardena: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress his Department has made on the introduction of an automated delay repay compensation scheme that is interoperable across train operating companies.

Andrew Jones: The Department requires operators of new franchises to provide automated Delay Repay compensation processes that make claiming swift and simple and is working with the rail industry and the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) to deliver more automated claims processes across all DfT-let franchises. The Delay Repay compensation scheme has now been rolled out to all but one of these franchises. Since announcing ‘one-click’ compensation in October 2018, the Government has also introduced a requirement for new franchises to introduce simple one-click automated claims systems, available via smartphones and smartcard registration, to make it easier for passengers to claim compensation when they have suffered delays. In practice, train operating companies work with one another to ensure that the Delay Repay compensation scheme works in an interoperable way between franchises. For example, if a passenger submits their claim for compensation to an operator other than the one responsible for the delay, then the operator receiving the claim should forward this to the one that was responsible for the delay and advise the passenger that they have done this. We can advise that South Western Railway (SWR)’s compensation offering was improved earlier this month with the announcement of Automated Delay Repay, which is a new simpler way of claiming compensation for Season ticket holders using SWR Touch smartcards and for holders of Advance tickets purchased through SWR’s website: https://www.southwesternrailway.com/contact-and-help/refunds-and-compensation/automated-delay-repay.

Airports: Finance

Hugh Gaffney: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of the effect of the Government's draft EU Withdrawal Agreement on the the financial viability of UK airports.

Chris Grayling: The Withdrawal Agreement sets out the terms of a time-limited implementation period. During this time air services and businesses, including airports, will be able to continue as they do now without having to comply with a different set of rules and regulations. The Political Declaration sets out the broad terms of our future relationship with the EU and signals the ambition of both sides to agree a Comprehensive Air Transport Agreement that will provide for market access for UK and EU airlines. This agreement will therefore support the continued competitiveness of the UK aviation sector.

Boats

Sir Vince Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to ensure that all older passenger boat operators in the UK who will be directly affected by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency’s (MCA) proposals for older UK passenger boats will be informed about the forthcoming MCA consultation on that matter.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: The forthcoming consultation on older UK domestic passenger vessels will be published by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) on GOV.UK. Anyone who subscribes to notifications of MCA consultations via the “Policy Papers and Consultations” page of GOV.UK will be notified of this and other consultations issued by the MCA, by email alert or RSS feed depending on their selection. Additionally, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) will promulgate the consultation through the main industry safety groups, and other interested parties whose details are held on a notification list for domestic passenger vessels subject matter. This is not exhaustive, but any person or organisation may request that their details be added to the list to receive notifications.

Boats

Sir Vince Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he last met with representatives of the UK’s older passenger boat sector; and if he will make a statement.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: Policy officials from the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) meet regularly with representatives and operators from the domestic passenger vessels sector. This includes operators of older and newer vessels. The last occasion was on 4 April 2019 at a London Operators meeting. The MCA also held a Workshop on 26 March 2019 to discuss proposed changes to safety legislation affecting this sector which included representative bodies and individual operators in the sector.

Boats

Sir Vince Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with the Competition and Markets Authority on the effect of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency’s proposals for older UK passenger boats on (a) choice for passengers and (b) competition among operators on the River Thames; and if he will make a statement.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: The assessment of impact for these proposals is ongoing, and as a result of feedback received, policy officials in the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) will be consulting with the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to explore whether the proposals are of interest to them.

Boats

Sir Vince Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he last met with the (a) Mayor of London and (b) Minister for London to discuss the (i) Maritime and Coastguard Agency’s proposals for older Thames passenger boats and (ii) effect of those proposals on (A) London tourism, (B) people employed in skilled jobs related to those older passenger boats, (C) London's night economy and (D) people employed in wider River Thames tourism related jobs including in boatyards.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: Ministers have regular meetings with the Mayor of London and the Minister for London to discuss a range of matters. In respect of domestic passenger vessels, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) has consulted widely, with industry and relevant authorities, including those in London, on the latest proposals for bringing safety standards on older vessels as far as possible into line with those on newer vessels. A second public consultation on this will be launched later this year. Policy officials in the MCA are happy to discuss the proposals with any interested parties and take onboard relevant evidence for the assessment. Transport for London was notified of the first consultation on this matter and will be notified when the second consultation is issued.

Rolling Stock: Procurement

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what proportion of scoring is given to (a) developing skills, (b) education and employment opportunities and (c) promoting supply chain opportunities through the supply and maintenance in rolling stock contracts that have to comply under the Utilities Contract Regulations.

Andrew Jones: It is a matter for train operators or other contracting bodies, in awarding their own rolling stock contracts, to ensure they are compliant with any applicable procurement legislation and to set relevant evaluation criteria. Where the Government has led procurements of new trains in the past these have been run in accordance with statutory procurement rules.

Rolling Stock: Procurement

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, in reference to the Answers of 10 April 2019 to Question 239910 and Question 239906 on Rolling Stock: Procurement, what statutory provisions are in place to ensure that train operators deliver the greatest benefit for the UK economy when awarding rolling stock contracts.

Andrew Jones: It is a matter for train operators, in awarding their own rolling stock contracts, to ensure they are compliant with any applicable procurement legislation. Where the Government has led procurements of new trains, such as IEP and Thameslink, these have been run in accordance with statutory procurement rules.

Department for Transport: Procurement

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answers of 10 April 2019 to Question 239910 and Question 239906 on Rolling Stock: Procurement, for what reason his Department's public procurement policy differs from Government strategy in other departments in relation to the (a) Industrial Strategy, (b) National Shipbuilding Strategy, (c) Transforming Infrastructure Performance programme and (d) Transport Infrastructure Skills Strategy.

Andrew Jones: It is a matter for train operators, in awarding their own rolling stock contracts, to undertake procurement in line with their own commercial strategies. Where the Government has led procurements of new trains, such as IEP and Thameslink, these have been run in accordance with statutory procurement rules.

Rescue Services

Ian Blackford: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans his Department has made to support mountain rescue teams with helicopter cover in the event that Bristow Helicopters cannot sustain its operations.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: The current difficulties are contained within Bristow Group and do not affect the Department for Transport’s contract with Bristow Helicopters Limited. Bristow Helicopters Ltd continues to fulfil its contractual obligations with the UK Government. The Department for Transport has protections in its contract to guarantee a search and rescue helicopter service in the unlikely event that these obligations should go unfulfilled.

Railways: Safety

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department suspends financial penalties for train delays and cancellations in the event of a health and safety incident.

Andrew Jones: The Franchise Agreement specifies that certain situations, which can include health and safety incidents, can be exempted from financial penalties, although this is not automatic. If a relevant authority (such as the ORR) issues a safety restriction for a specific period of time, a temporary revised performance plan may be agreed and put in place. In all cases, Franchisees are expected to implement mitigations to minimise the incident’s impact on passengers.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Mexico: Religious Freedom

David Linden: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his Mexican counterpart on religious freedom in that country; and what representations he has made to the Mexican Government on impunity for repeat perpetrators of violations of religious freedom in that country.

David Linden: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what plans he has to have discussions with his Mexican counterpart on ensuring that all religious minority children have access to a fair education and are not excluded on account of their faith or the faith of their parents.

Sir Alan Duncan: In October 2018 the Minister of State for the Commonwealth and the UN, Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon discussed human rights, including Freedom of Religion or Belief in Mexico with the former Mexican Ambassador to the UK, now Deputy Foreign Minister. We work closely with the Government of Mexico to support a broad human rights agenda. Through the Prosperity Fund, we support the consolidation of Mexico's new criminal justice and anti-corruption systems, by providing technical support to strengthen investigative capacities. In November 2018, during Mexico's Universal Periodic Review, the UK made recommendations to Mexico about accountability for human rights violations, independence of the National Prosecutor's Office and on addressing impunity for violence against human rights defenders.Officials in our Embassy in Mexico City and ministers have contact with Civil Society Groups, including Christian Solidarity Worldwide, to help inform our understanding of the situation on the ground. Mexico has close to universal access to basic education. We will continue to work with civil society to identify when rare cases preventing this do occur and engage with the Mexican authorities as part of our frequent conversations.

China: Gambia

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make an assessment of investments by state-owned companies owned by the People's Republic of China into Banjul Port with regards to their effect on (a) human rights and (b) corruption.

Mark Field: We understand that the African Development Bank is going to finance some essential repairs at Banjul Port but that no decision has yet been made on any wider development of the Port. More generally, it is in everyone’s interests that China’s investments abroad, and particularly in Africa, develop using international standards and global best practice, in order to attract international investment and to achieve sustainable, inclusive development outcomes, which benefit all countries concerned. We share concerns about some of China’s infrastructure investments and the UK is engaging to press for international standards on transparency, debt sustainability, environment impact including carbon emissions, and social impact.

Department of Health and Social Care

Maternity Services: Safety

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether all healthcare regions of England have fully (a) staffed and (b) operational Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch maternity investigation teams.

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the number of maternity investigations to be undertaken by the HSIB Maternity Investigation teams in (a) 2019 and (b) the next three years.

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many HSIB maternity investigations have been (a) undertaken and (b) completed since its inception.

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the number of HSIB maternity investigations that will be (a) undertaken and (b) completed in 2019.

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, which HSIB Maternity Investigation teams are completing their investigations within the designated timeframe of 60 days.

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether HSIB Maternity Investigations are intended to replace internal hospital reviews of intrapartum stillbirths in England.

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much funding his Department has allocated to HSIB maternity investigation teams until 2023.

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the HSIB Safe Space Principle will be extended to maternity investigations undertaken under the Each Baby Counts definition.

Jackie Doyle-Price: As from 1 April 2019, the Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch (HSIB) maternity investigations programme is fully staffed and operational in every healthcare region in England.The HSIB is estimated to undertake 1,000 investigations in 2019. Work will be undertaken to forecast future estimates for the next three years based on the most recent datasets held by the HSIB.Since the start of the HSIB maternity investigations programme up until 12 April 2019, a total of 401 investigations have gone live and four investigations have been completed. From 1 April 2019 HSIB will be operating at full capacity and is continuously refining its methodology to improve the turn-around time for completing investigations. As a result, the number of investigations completed are expected to increase in 2019.The 60-day timeframe applies to the current NHS Serious Incident Framework. In line with the National Health Service Trust Development Authority (Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch) (Additional Investigatory Functions in respect of Maternity Cases) Directions 2018, HSIB is required to complete investigations within 6 months.  The HSIB’s investigations will replace hospital reviews of intrapartum stillbirths only for cases which fall within scope of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists’ Each Baby Counts criteria. This criterion includes all term babies (at least 37 completed weeks of gestation) born following labour who have one of the following outcomes: intrapartum stillbirth or where the baby was thought to be alive at the start of labour but was born with no signs of life.The HSIB was allocated £10 million in 2018/19 for the maternity investigations programme. A final budget for 2019/20 is to be finalised. Budgets for future years have not been determined.The National Health Service Trust Development Authority (Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch) (Additional Investigatory Functions in respect of Maternity Cases) Directions 2018 states that “In carrying out the additional investigatory functions, the ‘safe space principle’ as described at paragraph 6(1) of HSIB Directions does not apply.”

Female Genital Mutilation

Neil Coyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of the mandatory reporting duty for female genital mutilation on access to healthcare.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The decision by a patient to disclose female genital mutilation (FGM) to a healthcare professional is complex. The FGM Mandatory Reporting duty (which applies only when the patient is under 18) is just one aspect of this.The Home Office amended the police Annual Data Requirement (ADR) to allow police forces the opportunity from April 2018 to record, on a voluntary basis, offences of FGM which were initially reported to the police under the FGM Mandatory Reporting Duty. Subject to data quality checks, we expect the first dataset under this new voluntary ADR collection to be published later this year. From April 2019, recording of this data under the ADR is mandatory.With this information in combination with the FGM Enhanced Dataset, published by NHS Digital, we will be able to consider whether there is evidence of impact of the FGM Mandatory Reporting duty.

Homelessness: Death

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many adult safeguarding reviews have taken place into the deaths of homeless people in each of the last five years; and what the findings were of those reviews.

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what guidance is provided to local authorities on conducting an adult safeguarding review into the death of a homeless person.

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the oral answer of 8 April 2019 to Question 910267, what circumstances prompt an adult safeguarding review to take place when a homeless person dies.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The Government does not collect national level data on the living circumstances of the subjects of Safeguarding Adult Reviews.The care and support statutory guidance provides the criterion for conducting Safeguarding Adult Reviews, the guidance relates to all adults and does not specify whether the review is related to the death of a homeless person.The care and support statutory guidance states that a Safeguarding Adult Board must conduct a Safeguarding Adult Review, when an adult in its area dies or is seriously harmed as a result of abuse or neglect, whether known or suspected, and there is concern that partner agencies could have worked more effectively to protect the adult. This criterion is also used for the death of a homeless person.

Mental Health Services: Children

Mr George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to increase funding for children's mental health services in the next financial year.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The NHS Long Term Plan, published on 7 January 2019, announced that mental health services will continue to receive a growing share of the National Health Service budget, with funding to grow by at least £2.3 billion a year by 2023/24. Under this Long Term Plan, funding for children and young people’s mental health services will grow faster than both overall NHS funding and total mental health spending.

Mental Health Services: Children

Mr George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will (a) introduce legislative proposals and (b) set out a timetable for their introduction to require individuals who wish to work therapeutically with children to register with an independent government-approved agency such as the Professional Authority's Accredited Register programme or Health and Care Professions Council.

Stephen Hammond: The Government has no plans to introduce legislative proposals to require unregulated professions who work therapeutically with children to be regulated by the Health and Care Professions Council.The Government is clear that statutory professional regulation should only be used in cases where the risks to the public cannot be mitigated in other ways, such as through employer oversight or accredited voluntary registration.Unregulated professions are encouraged to register with an appropriate professional body whose register has been accredited by the Professional Standards Authority. Accreditation provides assurance that practitioners on the register meet set standards and demonstrates that the organisation is committed to protecting the public.

Mental Health Services: Children

Mr George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Government Response to the Consultation on Transforming Children and Young People’s Mental Health Provision: a Green Paper and Next Steps, what assessment he has made of the priorities for children's mental health that must be included in a new mental health act; and if he will make a statement.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The Government is currently considering its priorities for mental health legislation, including for children and young people. ‘Transforming Children and Young People’s Mental Health Provision: a Green Paper’ did not make specific proposals for legislation.The Independent Review of the Mental Health Act, published in December 2018, made a number of recommendations in relation to the provision of mental health services for Children and Young People. The report is available at the following link:www.gov.uk/government/publications/modernising-the-mental-health-act-final-report-from-the-independent-reviewThe Government is considering the report and its recommendations in detail and will respond in due course.

Organs: Donors

Mr Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the merits of the conclusions of the London Assembly Health Committee report on organ donation in London's ethnic minority communities for his Department.

Mr Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to increase rates of organ donation among black, Asian and minority ethnic Londoners.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The Department welcomes the London Assembly Health Committee’s recent report, and recommendations, on organ donation in London’s ethnic minority communities (March 2019).Shortages of organs for transplant are relevant to people from all backgrounds but are particularly acute for black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) patients, who are more likely to need an organ transplant. The Department launched a campaign in July 2018, delivered by NHS Blood and Transplant, with support from the National Black, Asian, Mixed Race and Minority Ethnic Transplant Alliance, to increase donation rates by raising awareness and breaking down barriers to donation within these communities. A toolkit is available at the following link:http://bit.ly/bameODtoolkitAs part of the campaign, funding was made available for a Community Investment Scheme and in January 2019, 25 projects were successful in sharing £140,000 in funding to break down myths and barriers and increase support for organ donation among BAME communities. Organisations representing Jain, Sikh, Hindu, Muslim, Swahili, black and Asian Christians, black African and Caribbean and multi-faith groups received funding for their projects, including 12 focusing on the London region.In addition, the Organ Donation (Deemed Consent Act) 2019 will be introducing a new system of consent for organ and tissue donation in England, from 2020, to help increase the number of donors. In April, NHS Blood and Transplant launched a 12-month communication campaign before the law comes into force, to raise awareness of the changes and the options available under the new system. The campaign will target BAME communities and campaign materials have been developed to resonate with different audiences and communities across London. NHS Blood and Transplant also plans to translate the leaflet containing details of the new law into different languages. NHS Blood and Transplant will be seeking the support of various BAME communities and faith and belief organisations to spread the campaign message.

Patients: Travel

Edward Miliband: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, (a) how many people in Doncaster North constituency have accessed the Healthcare Travel Costs Scheme in each of the last three years; and (b) how uptake per person in Doncaster North constituency compares with average uptake per person in England in each of the last three years.

Jackie Doyle-Price: These data are not collected centrally.

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

Housing: Energy

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to improve the energy efficiency of (a) new and (b) existing homes.

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what step his Department is taking to help contribute to UK emissions targets.

James Brokenshire: Holding answer received on 25 April 2019



The Clean Growth Strategy sets out Government policy on meeting the UK’s emissions targets. The Department’s contribution to tackling emissions in England includes the National Planning Policy Framework, the Building Regulations, and the Decent Homes Standard.The National Planning Policy Framework expects local planning authorities to take account of how new development will help to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, such as through its location, orientation and design. Planning practice guidance provides advice for local authorities and applicants on implementing these policies.In the Government’s Clean Growth Strategy we committed to reviewing the energy performance standards in the Building Regulations, including consulting on improving energy efficiency requirements in new and existing homes where the evidence suggests it is cost effective, affordable, practical and safe to do so. Further to this, Government committed to introducing a Future Homes Standard by 2025 for new build homes to be future-proofed with low carbon heating and world-leading levels of energy efficiency. We plan to consult on these matters in the coming months.The Decent Homes Standard (DHS) requires that social homes provide residents with a reasonable degree of thermal comfort. All social landlords are required by the Regulator of Social Housing to meet the DHS. Homes for social housing are required to have efficient heating and effective insulation and be free of serious hazards that present a risk to residents, including excess cold. The Social Housing Green Paper asked whether there are changes to what constitutes a decent home that we should consider. The consultation closed in November 2018 and we are currently considering responses.

Housing: Standards

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how much funding his Department has allocated to the decent homes programme (a) in each of the last ten years and (b) in each of the next five years.

James Brokenshire: Holding answer received on 25 April 2019



The number of social homes failing to meet the Decent Homes standard fell by 32 per cent between 2010 and 2017.Between 2011 and 2016 we provided a total of £1.76 billion to 45 councils across England to help them tackle their backlog of non-compliant homes. It helped to make over 158,000 homes meet the relevant standards.Private registered providers – such as housing associations - are expected to maintain their homes to the Decent Homes Standard using their own resources. In the year to March 2018, private registered providers spent £1.7 billion on capital improvements to existing stock.The Social Housing Green Paper asked whether there are any changes to what constitutes a decent home that we should consider.

Home Office

Slavery: Victims

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many potential victims of modern slavery referred to the National Referral Mechanism in 2018 have (a) been granted residency in the UK as a consequence of their exploitation and (b) agreed to return to their country of origin.

Caroline Nokes: Identified victims of modern slavery may be eligible for discretionary leave in line with the Discretionary Leave Policy for victims of modern slavery: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/739436/dl-for-victims-of-modern-slavery-v2.pdfThe specific information you have requested is not readily available and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. This is because a manual search through individual records would be required to identify victims of modern slavery who were granted protection-based leave or another form of leave more favourable than discretionary leave as a consequence of their exploitation.As identified victims include EEA nationals who may be exercising treaty rights it is not possible to provide a compete figure for the number of vic-tims who have agreed to return to their country of origin.The National Crime Agency publishes statistics on referrals into the National Referral Mechanism on a quarterly basis. Further analysis is contained within the 2018 UK Annual Report on Modern Slavery. These reports are available via the following links:https://nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk/who-we-are/publications/282-national-referral-mechanism-statistics-end-of-year-summary-2018 https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/749346/2018_UK_Annual_Report_on_Modern_Slavery.pdfMigration statistics including the number of people granted residency and those leaving the UK are available via the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/immigration-statistics-year-ending-december-2018/summary-of-latest-statistics

Police: Pensions

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment his Department has made of the merits of allowing police widows and widowers to retain their widows' pension upon remarriage, co-habitation or civil partnership irrespective of the circumstances of the death of their spouses.

Mr Nick Hurd: Survivors of officers who were members of the 2006 and 2015 police pension schemes are, since 2006 and irrespective of the circumstances of the death of the officer, paid survivor pensions for life.On 18 January 2016, the Police Pensions Regulations 1987 and the Police (Injury Benefit) Regulations 2006 were amended to allow widows, widowers and civil partners of police officers in England and Wales who have died on duty and who qualified for a survivor pension after 1 April 2015 to continue to receive their survivors’ benefits for life. Successive governments have been clear that we have a general presumption against making retrospective changes to public service pension schemes. However, the Government believes the arguments for making a limited exception for the widows of police officers who died on duty are sufficiently compelling in this case.

Domestic Abuse: Mental Health

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the extent to which mental health issues are present in domestic abuse cases reported to the police in England and Wales.

Mr Nick Hurd: This Government is committed to transforming the response to domestic abuse. On 21 January, we published a landmark draft Domestic Abuse Bill alongside a wide-ranging package of measures to protect and support victims. We know that domestic abuse can have a severe and lasting impact on mental health, and we would expect police officers to identify this in their initial risk assessment. The College of Policing has designed a revised risk assessment tool for frontline officers to record a clear picture of the nature and intensity of the abuse and asks officers to consider why they have assigned the level of risk and consider aggravating factors (such as mental health). This tool is being introduced across further police forces, following its successful piloting in Sussex Police, West Midlands Police and Humberside Police.The latest inspection by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Crime, Fires and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) has found considerable improvements in the overall police response to victims of domestic abuse since the publication of the first thematic report in 2014.A training programme has been developed by the College of Policing with the support of SafeLives. Its aim is to enhance the skills, knowledge and effectiveness of first responders in dealing with domestic abuse, and the programme is called Domestic Abuse Matters. An evaluation by the College of Policing has shown a positive impact on officers’ knowledge and attitude following the training.

Police: Absenteeism

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the level of absenteeism has been for the police in each year since 2015.

Mr Nick Hurd: The Home Office collects and publishes information on the number of police officers on long-term absence as at 31st March each year. Long-term absence includes officers on leave for 28 days or more.These data are available in the Absence Open Data tables published alongside the annual ‘Police workforce’ statistical bulletin, available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/police-workforce-open-data-tablesThe Home Office also collects information on the number of police officers on short/medium term sick absence as at 31st March each year. Short/medium term absence due to sickness includes officers on leave for 28 days or less.

Police

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many officers are currently subject to (a) temporary and (b) permanent duty restrictions in each police force in England.

Mr Nick Hurd: The Home Office collects and publishes statistics on the number of police officers on restricted/adjusted and recuperative duties on an annual basis. These data are published in the ‘Police workforce, England and Wales’ statistical bulletins.Data on the number of police officers on restricted/adjusted and recuperative duties, in England and Wales, by Police Force Area, as at 31 March, can be found in table W3 of the data tables published alongside the release: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/728153/police-workforce-tabs-jul18.ods

Cabinet Office

Government Departments: Brexit

Hugh Gaffney: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate he has made of the number of civil servants working in posts relating to the UK leaving the EU since the Government's recent decision to stand down Operation Yellowhammer.

Mr David Lidington: The Government is equipping itself with the right people with the right skills for the UK to successfully exit the European Union. There are almost over 17,000 people now working on EU exit related policy and programmes across government. Workforce plans will continually be reviewed to ensure the Civil Service can respond to emerging capacity and capability requirements as we accelerate preparations.